Devices are already known for holding objects, which devices have a pallet on which the object, for example a workpiece, can be fixed. The workpiece to be processed, which is located on the pallet, can be brought into the position required for processing the same at a presetting location. The workpiece, together with the pallet, and with the set position of the workpiece being held, is then fed into the working range of the machine.
In order to site the workpiece exactly in a horizontal plane, measuring devices are required which are very accurate in the two directions X and Y of the horizontal plane. Setting the workpiece in the plane is much more costly, because a cross-slide system, for example, is required for this purpose. Such horizontal measuring devices are very expensive.